Seventh Gear
by E.J.C.Graves
Summary: Jason Broward, who is a professional racer. He has everything anyone could want: Money, a large house, a smokin hot girlfriend, and fast cars. Everything but a Forza Cup


**Forza Motorsport belongs to Microsoft and Need For Speed belongs to Electronic Arts, I do not own any of them.**

**All of the Companies, Cars, Tools, and other copyrighted material belong to their respected owners.**

First…Second…Third…Fourth gear flew by as Jason Broward cornered the expertly placed turns of the American International Speedway (AIS). He sped by the spectators as he shifted into higher gears. As he skillfully applied the brakes and downshifted for a turn, he reached a finger and pushed a button located on the dashboard of his car. There was a soft beeping tone as a small, simple display of his car's health was displayed on the center console of the dash. _Tires: good, Suspension: good, Driveshaft: good, Gearing: good, Engine: good. Okay, all systems green. Time to put the rubber to the road!_ He thought this as he rounded the apex of the large sweeping turn. He added more gradual pressure to the pedal beneath his right foot and watched both his tachometer and speedometer rise with the engine pouring out more torque and horsepower. As his car accelerated, a rising feeling of what he came to call a speed high followed with the sight of the world whipping past him. This was his favorite part of racing; it was where he felt free and relaxed.

He shifted into sixth gear and felt the endorphins reach an amount in his body to where he felt like he was weightless, floating around in heaven, carefree and cut off from the outside world. He sat there for a moment in rapture. Suddenly this moment of ecstasy was broken off from a female voice saying very matter-of-factly, "Car behind is plus four point six eighty-seven." He lurched forward in his seat, back into focus, and looked down at his current speed, which turned out to be just over two hundred miles-per-hour. He spoke clearly to the microphone belonging to the headset he wore under his helmet, "What driver is behind me?" He waited for a moment and the reply came in the same voice, "Norman Greene, that odd looking man in the Subaru. The one you said looked like the guy from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is just in front of the orange Lancer EVO." Jason slowed down for the turn to the straight-away that crossed the finish line. It was not yet time to rejoice, because there were still eight laps left in the race on the four mile track. He traveled around the decreasing radius of the turn with ease and got back to accelerating.

His Honda NSX was a car not at all scared of corners and twists. He had taken the poor machine from a used car lot, where it was trashed and beat up, to the racing machine of dreams. The aftermarket down force body kit had improved the look of the 2004 model along with the royal blue, pearlescent paintjob he had a friend apply to the car. The engine had bigger turbochargers, intake and exhaust systems, a huge intercooler, and a professional tune-up attached and applied to the stock engine that originally had whirred out only three hundred horses. To put it lightly, the car no longer whirred; it roared out nearly seven hundred horsepower and had a top speed of about two hundred fifteen mph.

As he sped over the line to complete his seventh lap, the voice returned over his headset's radio. "Seven down, Eight to go! Keep it up Jason! This race is yours! Car behind is plus five point zero four seven." Jason grinned under the black visor of his racing helmet. "Thanks, Kate. I will, and you know, I might just get you something special with the first place winnings. What do you think about that?" He continued racing, waiting for a reply. Three turns later, he got his reply on a message that flashed on his center console screen, saying, "SURE, THAT'S GREAT! KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!" He laughed to himself and spoke into the microphone, "So now you can hack into my car's touch screen system? That's a new trick." It took a second for another message to appear, "LOL. YEP. HAIRPIN UP AHEAD." Jason was amazed at how interesting it was to have a hacker who knew cars inside and out as an "intimate" friend. He knew what she had meant by hairpin. She had been referring to a hairpin turn (a sharp, narrow turn that resembles the shape of a hairpin), which was approaching fast. He applied the brakes and swung his car into the turn, feeling the forces of physics trying to pull his car off the road. He lived for racing and wouldn't know what he would have without it.

The trees outside of the cement barriers lining the road swept by as he sped around the small turn. Hardly careening down the road, he ripped around another turn going in the opposite direction. All of this got him one step closer to his ultimate goals, the gold medal, fifty thousand dollars, and winning the tuner championship with this race. With this in mind, he flew along the turns and straight-aways of the AIS.

The laps seemed to fly by in seconds; that is until lap sixteen, the lap before the checkered flag. Jason was going around the final turn before the line that opened up the seventeenth lap when his tires started to slip on the tarmac. Jason looked at the road; he saw pieces of pipes and what looked like gasoline or motor oil on the road. There were also skid marks of where a car had ran over something and fallen off the road. The small pieces of pipes had come from an engine or a piece attached to an engine. While this was going through his head, the rear left tire slipped off the road and hit the grass. The loss of grip on the tire was sudden; it instantly started to pull the rest of the NSX off the road. Right at the moment this happened, Jason's eyes went wide underneath the black visor of his helmet. He said only one word, "NO!" Immediately after the syllable left his mouth, his car spun sideways. Instinctively, he jerked the wheel to the left. This would have straightened the car out… if it was on cement. The car was half off the road and pulling the steering wheel to the left turned the car off the road. When the front tires hit the grass, the Honda spun out, round and round. Jason let go of the wheel, eyes still wide. He could hear Kate yelling through the headset, "Jason, what happened!" Finally the car hit gravel and sand, which stopped it fast.

Jason looked to the road and slammed the gas pedal down. Gravel, chewed from under the wheels, sprayed out in a plume that went above the barricades and into the stands. There people shouted and tried to duck away from the barrage of dirt. The car lurched forward, speeding toward the roadway. A few cars were already turning into the curve that he had slipped on. The one in the lead was Norman Greene, the "hunchback" driving a modified Subaru Impreza WRX. The white and black Subaru was speeding into the turn. He was getting closer to Jason's trajectory on the road. Closer and closer he got. Right as Norman was about to gain the lead, a blue flash careened directly in front of him. The blur slowed to form the shape of a blue Honda NSX… Jason Broward's NSX.

Jason looked in his rearview mirror and smiled when he saw Norman pound his steering wheel. He kept the pressure on the gas and shifted up. He blew by the line. He saw the man waving that cliché checkered flag. He grinned and looked again into the rearview mirror. He saw that two other cars had hit the same oil slick that he had. The only difference was that they had collided and parts that had broken off were splayed over the turn.

The seventeenth lap went by with Norman Greene just one step behind Jason. They kept up with each other throughout the lap. The chase went on for what seemed like an eternity. The greenery of the surrounding area whipped by in a flash. All of the races up to that point culminated into this one minute in time. The same turn was coming up fast. This knocked Jason out of his concentration. This turn could mean the outcome of the race. He applied the brakes lightly as he turned in. He held the gas at a steady half point. He rounded the turn without incident. Unbeknownst to him, a piece of metal from the crash flew into his intake. The piece quivered there for a few seconds. It would have remained there, but a slight bump in the road knocked it out as the car rounded out of the turn. The sliver flew into the turbocharger and into the engine. There it jammed the oil valve in the first cylinder. Within the few milliseconds after this, fuel started to pool in the cylinder. The next time the piston moved up and the spark plug ignited, the fuel exploded. The force of this caused the piston ring to be knocked a little out of place. This caused the gasket to come a little loose. This repeated through each stroke of the engine.

Jason knew something was wrong. The vibrations he felt in his steering wheel were different. Kate spoke into his headset, "Jason, something has come loose in the engine, step off the gas. You are going to blow your engine!" Jason ignored this and pressed his car harder. He could see Norman Greene's Subaru gaining on him. They were neck and neck now. Jason looked to his right and saw Norman give him the middle finger as he slowly accelerated past him. In anger Jason floored the pedal and heard the eclectic roar of his injured engine grow louder and louder. He was gaining on the Subaru now. They were beside each other again and slowly Jason passed Norman. He soared over the white line and won the race.

Less than two seconds after this, the engine produced a terrible ripping sound and a loud bang. The blue hood flew up and smoke poured out from the wrecked engine. The Honda slid off the road and into the gravel again. When it came to a stop, the smoke and dust surrounded the car. Immediately the road crew came out to tow the car off the road. When they arrived, they found Jason leaning on the side of the car, hands in the pockets of his nomex flame retardant suit and helmet on the seat of the car. He was whistling a tune that was a fairly happy one. He pushed the hood down without looking at the engine. The truck began pulling his car toward the pit. Jason ran forward and jumped on top of the car's roof. He grabbed the cable that ran over the top of the car. He stood and waved at the crowd as he passed. The crowd roared as if it was a rock concert. They jumped up and cheered or booed him. The trip to the pit was short. He hopped off the roof and walked up to the section of the pit lane marked off for his team.

Right when his feet hit the ground, his team ran up to him. They asked if he was all right, if he was hurt, or how he won. He just smiled, answered them one at a time, and looked around. Someone was missing from the group. He turned around and jumped back in surprise. Standing less than a foot from him was a pretty brunette woman who looked very pissed. She had her hands on her hips and an angry grimace on her face. She was wearing a very flattering nomex suit with the same blue and black colors that were on Jason's. She sighed as she took off her headset and set it down on a laptop nearby. When she turned back to him, she spoke finally, "You ignored me. Again."

Jason put his hands up in a shrug, "Look, I'm sorry. I needed to win this race." As he finished his statement, she rolled her eyes and walked away to the car, where the rest of the pit team was. They backed off as she popped up the hood. When she did, smoke poured out of the fried engine. He walked up next to her and looked at the engine. It was in bad shape. A header was blown, the fuel pumps on the left side were broken, the camshaft was bent horribly out of shape, two belts were melted, several of one of the turbochargers' blades were shattered, and the air intake had been ripped from its port. Jason's smile dropped to a frown, then to a grimace as he surveyed the damage.

"I take it back," he said, "you have every right to be pissed at me." He stepped back, put his hands on his head, and let out a huge sigh. He stepped away from the destroyed machinery under the hood of his car. He wiped his face with the back of his gloved hand. He groaned and leaned forward. He put his hands on his knees. He glanced to his left and laughed as he saw his girlfriend's backside in his face. It wasn't a laugh of humor, but of frustration and annoyance. He shut up as she looked back at him with a face that screamed murder.

He called his team over to tow the vehicle into the small garage space. He looked up at the observation/press booth. The speakers on the glass paned building announced to the crowd that he was the winner. The crowd went wild. He turned to his left, because his pit crew boss was talking to him. The other man in his late forties told him that he would need to report to the winner's stand in ten minutes. He nodded to him. He headed back to the car to fix whatever he could on the engine in less than ten minutes.

Nine minutes later, he set off toward the winner's stand, still in his racing suit. He walked at a brisk pace. He waited by the stand for about five minutes, while the announcer talked about the race. The announcer started the awards by calling up the third place. Kevin Johnson, who had driven into third place in his 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, stepped up onto the lowest platform. Kevin was handed a ten-inch tall bronze trophy and a check for $75,000. Next came Norman Greene, who had drove a 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi. He stepped up to the second place stand and received a $100,000 check and a foot tall silver trophy. The announcer began pumping the crowd up. "And now, for the winner of the G-Reddy S4 class championship, Jason Broward!" The stands roared with activity. Jason stepped up onto the highest podium that was set up. He smiled and waved at the crowd. He was given a 1½ foot tall trophy cup. He was given a check for two hundred thousand dollars. He stood there waving for about a minute. He was given the microphone. He thanked his team, including Kate, and he thanked his fans. He stepped down from the podium and headed back to the pit. There he found his crew already loading the car into its truck. He helped them move the thing into the trailer and then walked back to the pit to pick up any last things that were left there. On the way back he was met by several cameras and microphone holding reporters. They pressed him for answers to how he won, will he ever race that car again, and how he felt. He respectfully answered the first one who asked him how he won. "Well, I pushed my car past the limit and that's how I won." After he finished his statement, he looked to the left. Running up to meet him was Kevin Johnson. The younger man of twenty stepped up to him and gave him a handshake that turned into a hug. Kevin congratulated him, leaned closer and whispered, "Hey, that party still going down at your place?" Jason nodded to him as the other man walked away. Jason then turned back to the reporters and answered the rest of their questions. Once he was finished, they rushed over to Kevin and his team.

Jason laughed as he walked away. His crew picked up the things he had for them. As they put it up, his crew leader looked over to him and asked, "Your house, nine o'clock?" Jason nodded. The man nodded and hopped into the driver's seat of the Semi truck. As the truck, with his crew, drove away, he walked to the parking lot to Kate's car. He walked over to the passenger door of the silver 2004 Nissan Skyline GTR 34 Spec NÛR. He pulled the door handle, but the door was locked. He leaned down and peered through the blue tinted window. "Really?" he asked through the window. A few seconds later he heard the door unlock. He opened it and sat down inside. The racing bucket seat was similar to the comfy black ones in the NSX. The interior of the car was a mix of black, blue, and chrome details. He turned his head to face Kate. She had a slight smile on her face. She started the skyline. The engine churned out a throaty roar as it revved. She threw it into reverse and backed out of the parking space.

Kate had bought the car with the money she had earned from being his race manager, pit crew head, engine technician, and time keeper, all at once. She had gotten a great deal on the thing; she only spent one hundred thousand dollars on it. Even when it was still stock under the hood, the machine spewed six hundred ninety four horsepower. Jason had first modified it with the windows and interior details for Christmas. The following Valentines Day he bought her new 18 inch Giovanna wheels with street racing tires. Then for her birthday, which was in March, he had bought her the racing bucket seats, new taillights, new headlights, blue engine accents, blue neon underglow, and a turbocharger that raised the horsepower to over seven hundred fifty. The day after he had all of that installed, she tuned the engine to get over nine hundred horsepower. The car would rip the asphalt off the road if it was given the chance.

She shifted up to first gear and slowly drove out of the parking lot. They spent most of the ride in silence that was only permeated by the growling of the Skyline. Jason didn't speak, because he knew she was still venting, whether it be by silence or driving, about him ignoring her and screwing up the engine of the car.

When they reached their house, they hopped out and went inside. There they headed to different sections of the house. Jason went to the garage, where he noticed his pit boss had placed the NSX. He set down the car keys that were in his pocket on his large Snap On tool box that was nearly as tall as him. He went upstairs to his bedroom. He changed into a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He headed back downstairs to the garage. As he walked in, Kate was driving the GTR into the large garage that could hold up to four cars. She shut it down when she was parked and stepped out. He looked over at her and started, "Hey, I'll fix dinner around seven if you want me t—." She put her hand up and interrupted, "Don't talk to me until the party gets started; I'm still venting." He nodded, "Ok." He shut the garage door and returned to the NSX. He lifted up the hood. He walked back to the tool box, reached under it and pulled out a rolling dolly. He picked up the skateboard like object and stood up. He looked over at the pictures on top of the toolbox. There was one of him and his cousin skiing in Utah. The one next to it was of him and his high school buddies hanging out. The third picture was of Jason and his mother. She had spurred him into chasing a dream, and he had done it. He held masters degrees in nano-engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering and physics. He had also been professionally racing since he had entered college at North Carolina State University. He smiled at the picture. He moved his eyes to the right and saw the final picture that held him and Kate in Kodiak, Alaska.

He had met her first in his sophomore Literature class at NC State. He had met her again later that night outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, where he was street racing illegally in his first car. She was calling the winners at the finish line that was a quarter mile down the straight stretch of road that had been selected. He had wound up smoking all of the competition and winning several hundred dollars. He didn't really notice her until after he finished his final run. He blew by the finish line and doubled back to the start position for another run but someone heard the police coming from down the road. He spun his car around and began accelerating away from the sirens. He watched everyone get into cars and take off, except her. Her driver had bailed as soon as she heard the police. Jason pulled up to her and told her to get in. Most likely out of instinct, not will, she ran around and jumped in. He floored the accelerator of his modified 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX. In the current time, Jason laughed to himself as he recollected the funnier part of the escape. About a quarter mile down the road, while they were traveling around one hundred fifty MPH, he looked over at her and his jaw dropped. "Wait! I know you. What are you doing here?" when he had said that, he almost lost control of the car. She didn't answer, but looked back through the rear window as flashing lights could be seen in the distance. "Their gaining on us," she had exclaimed in a frightened tone. He just laughed and turned off the road into a wooded section of road that was hard to see from the larger street. When he pulled of the main road, he flipped several switches on the dashboard and shut off his headlights. Outside of the car, the green underglow disappeared and the bright white headlights went out. Once his eyes had adjusted, he drove slowly and parked slightly off the road. He could still see the larger street through the trees, but it was a fair distance away. He shut off the engine and lights. The two of them sat in silence, breathing through their mouths as they watched the police drive by the smaller road. After several minutes, Jason started the car, and drove her to where she said she lived on campus. When they arrived to the dormitory, she said thanks, gave him a hug from across the car seat and stepped outside. He watched her enter the dorm then proceeded to go to his dorm room.

Jason then remembered that the very next day he got an invitation to get a professional racing sponsor from Enkei Wheels. That same day he sat down with her at the coffee shop near school and had lunch with her and her friends. Every night for the next month he saw her at the finish line of the street drag he participated in. Several times he drove her home from the cops and every times they escaped. The final time they escaped was when he asked her out. She didn't answer until she got dropped off at her dorm. She had said yes. Unfortunately their first date took a side trip to a training track in Fayetteville. There she had to wait for about an hour for him to finish the qualifying lap for the sponsor. Then she had to wait for him to meet with the representative from Enkei. When all that was over, he took some of his signing bonus money and bought her a nice meal at a Japanese steakhouse. Jason remembered that he was scared to death that that would be the only date. But, sure enough, she consented to go with him on several more dates before they made it "official".

In the current time he looked back at the picture and smiled even wider. They had been dating for the last six years. He took the dolly and walked with it over to the NSX, which had seen better days. He set the dolly down on the cement floor of the garage and brought over his lift. He wrapped the straps around the engine block and slid on the dolly underneath the car. Underneath, he unbolted everything that was attached to the engine. He slid out from under the car and lifted the engine with the hydraulic lift out of the vehicle. He then moved back to the car and unbolted the turbochargers. He lifted one of the objects to eye level and examined it. He spun the blade lining the inside of it. Several of them were bent and three were broken. He set it down on the floor. He looked down into the engine compartment and counted off to himself the new parts he would have to buy. Altogether, without taking into consideration the engine parts, he needed a new turbocharger, middle section of exhaust, intake port, intercooler, and two engine belts. He scowled at the estimated price. He then moved onto the engine. Thankfully, he already had replacement parts for it. He took off the headers, the valve train, the intakes and covers. He noticed that one of the headers was bent and had the bolts stripped. The other one was slightly scorched on the inside. He would have to replace them and the valves. He disassembled the rest of the engine and started pulling out the new parts he needed from the storage closet on the northernmost side of the garage. When he had the new parts on the floor, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number of his supplier. Luckily, a few days earlier, he had ordered two new turbochargers that were slightly larger than the current, broken one, and a larger intercooler. When the Japanese man on the other line picked up and greeted him, Jason asked him, "Hey, Li, it's Jason Broward; did you ever get those parts I ordered?" There was a pause on the other end. A heavily accented voice came over the line, "Uh, yeah I did. They are all boxed up and ready to be picked up." Jason took a mental note of all the parts he needed. "Hey," he began, "do you have any of these items in stock?" He named off all of the required pieces, including the non-engine parts. He could hear typing on the other end. Eventually there was a reply, "Yeah, I have those in stock. Why do you ask?" Jason answered back, "I need those parts for my NSX. Could you have them ready to go in an hour?" Li responded, "I think I can do that, they'll be wrapped up in an hour. You'll get a twenty percent discount for ordering them in a group package." Jason grinned, "Thanks Li, I owe you one."

He flipped his phone closed. He looked at the clock on the top of the phone. It read 7:36. "Oh crap." He said as he ran out of the garage and into the kitchen. He hurriedly grabbed pans and set them down on the stove. He went to his freezer and pulled out some thinly cut beef; then he reached into his refrigerator and pulled out a green bell pepper, an onion, and some beef broth. He started to make some pepper steak. When he was finished, he looked over his right shoulder and saw Kate, sitting on the beige couch with her feet up on the coffee table in front of it. She was holding a book, but she was smirking at Jason as he was rushing to fix a dinner. He boiled some rice and chopped up the vegetables. He had the entire meal cooked in less than twenty minutes. He set the pots on the dinner table located in an adjoining room. "Dinner's ready," he said to Kate from the dining room. He was answered with a thumb up from the couch. He brought out some plates and silverware. He waited for a minute or two and finally served himself when she didn't come to the table. He ate the simple meal fairly slowly, enjoying the taste of it. Kate finally sat at the table when he was almost finished. He waited for her to finish then he washed the dishes and put away the leftovers.

"I'm gonna pick up the engine parts from Li. I should be back in about twenty minutes." He got the same thumb in response. He grabbed his keys and headed into the garage. He walked over to an amorphous shape that was covered by a layer of vinyl. He flipped the covering off to reveal the '99 Eclipse that he had owned since he turned eighteen. The car was painted black with green flames going along the side skirts and a bright green skull with a white Mohawk and playing card aces flipping from behind it. There were green flames on the hood. There was a custom wide body kit that was designed after one from Need For Speed Underground 2 by him and another designer at Extreme Dimensions.(a company who makes custom body kits) The body kit was made by Extreme Dimensions. He had found and purchased (with help with his sponsor from Enkei Wheels) several sets of 2006 nineteen inch Enkei Arashi Wheels. He had attached a set of Cherry Bomb Glasspacks onto the exhaust. There was a larger, round exhaust tip. Jason opened the garage door and unlocked the car. He pulled the door handle up and stepped back as the Scissor, Lamborghini inspired door flipped up. He sat down in the bucket seat and started the ignition. The engine growled to life with a more muscularly sound than a normal eclipse; this was due to the Cherry Bomb Glasspacks he had on the exhaust. In the interior, the lights of the devices in the car flickered to life. Green neon lights pulsed to the music coming from the sound system from under the body kit. He pulled the car door down, shifted into reverse and backed out of the garage. He hit the remote for the door and drove out of the driveway. It was a calming drive to Li's Auto shop. He considered how to respond to Kate's attitude toward him at the moment. He decided to just take it, because she would eventually forgive him. That would probably be before the end of the night. He arrived at Li's shop in just over five minutes. He drove up to the front and parked in front of the double doors that formed the entrance. He got out and walked inside. Once indoors, he walked up to the counter and rung the bell. Immediately, a small, skinny man poked his head from a shelf behind the counter. "Drive around to the back," the man said. Jason walked back out to the car and drove around to the back. The rolling metal loading door on the back of the building opened upward and the same guy was standing in the doorway. Jason hopped out, walked up and shook his hand. "Thanks Li." The other man nodded and pointed to a stack of boxes of varying sizes. "This is everything you requested," Li began, "this will cost you $10,111. You don't have to pay for the turbos or the intercooler." Jason nodded and put the boxes in the trunk and passenger seat of the Eclipse. He closed the trunk and locked the car as he walked inside to pay for the items. He walked up to the debit/credit card reader on the counter and swiped his debit card once Li had everything tallied up on the register. The money exited his bank account and he took his receipt. He gave Li a hug, thanked him again and returned to the car. He drove home, parked the car, and unloaded the boxes onto the garage floor. He walked back to the door leading to the house and hung his keys near it. He went inside, prepared coolers with alcohol, turned on the speakers inside and outside, hooked up his Ipod and walked back to the garage. He began opening boxes and pulling out the parts. He booted up the laptop he had on a nearby table and opened up the link with his outside security camera pointed toward the driveway, which could fit up to nine cars. He noted that the time was 8:50. He started to reassemble the engine of the Honda NSX. It took him twenty minutes to get it put back together. He then moved it over and started to attach the new intake, exhaust section, and other parts needed. Before he installed the turbo, he examined the specs on the box. Unlike the other ones, which provided a combined boost of one hundred fifty horsepower, these gave a combined boost of two hundred horsepower. He installed the things into their mounts. All of that took fifteen minutes. He installed the intercooler, which raised the horsepower up thirty six. And that took ten minutes to accomplish. He then moved onto the engine. He moved it into its spot under the hood. He took his time, trying to get it perfectly lined up for the bolts and couplings that would keep it in its place. He got the engine bolted on with power tools. The time, unknown to him was nine forty. While he was under the car, on the computer screen, a Lamborghini Murcielago pulled up to the driveway. Jason slid out from under the car, pulled out a set of cords, connected them to a USB port on the laptop, and connected them to the ECU of the engine. He minimized the security camera feed, without looking at it, and brought up a program that would read the performance of the engine. He opened the car door and started the engine. He held down the clutch and put it in neutral. He revved the engine until the tachometer's needle was in the red. He released the gas and walked back to the computer, where a line graph displayed the toque, boost and horsepower that would have been applied to the wheels. It was similar to a dynamiter, but no shifting was involved. He was fairly satisfied with the results, but he would need Kate to fine tune the engine, because it was not his specialty.

He walked back to the storage closet, opened it, walked past the set of Arashi wheels on the left, and went past the neon kits, the various engine parts, to a large metal plate in the back. He hefted the plate and brought it out to the main part of the garage. He tossed a pneumatic drill underneath the car, set some bolts down next to it and brought the dolly back over to the car. He laid down on the dolly and laid the plate on his chest. Slowly, he inched his way under the car. When he was under, he slid the plate between the engine compartment and the drive shaft (except where the drive shaft connects to it.); he grabbed the drill and bolts and proceeded to bolt on the anterior half of the skid plate. He slid out, turned himself around on the dolly and slid back under. When he had one corner of the top down, he realized he forgot to get a new hood. "Crap." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Blackberry Storm II. He navigated to the hood manufacturer's website and started to place his order. As he was doing this, the door from the house to the garage opened and someone walked, quietly to the front of the car. He didn't notice, so when he was done placing the order, he finished bolting on the skid plate. His phone rang and he picked it up. "Hey Jacob, what's up?... Nothing much, just lying underneath my NSX…. Oh, you saw the crash…. Ha, that idiot Greene thought he had me. Hold on a second, I'm gonna slide out from under here. Like I was saying, Greene had no chance at beating— WHOA!!" He exclaimed, dropping his phone, as he rolled out from under the car and found himself looking up the dress of a woman who was standing in front of the car and leaning over the bumper of the car, examining the engine compartment. "Uh, hi?" he said reluctantly as the woman backed up. "Whoa!" the woman said as she jumped back from the car. "Hey, Jason." The blonde woman brushed some hair out from her face, "How are you doing." Jason slid out the rest of the way and stood up. "Sara?" he said, scrunching up his face in mild confusion.

"That would be my name." she said, laughing softly. "Sorry for standing over you like that, I just couldn't resist looking at the engine of the famous Broward NSX." Jason scratched the back of his head. "Uh," he started, reluctantly, "What are you doing here?" She laughed as she took a step closer to him. "Do you really think that people can't read lips? Kevin Johnson asked you if there was a party at your place and you nodded yes. So I took the liberty of driving the seventy miles to party with a high school friend of mine. If you don't want me here, then I'll go."

"No, no, it's not that I don't want you here, it's just that it was kinda unexpected. By the way, how did you get my address?" She stood there for a moment. "Uh, Facebook." She gave a weak smile. Jason shrugged, "Good enough for me. Come here you." He held out his arms for a hug and stepped forward, but she put her arms up in protest. He looked down at his t-shirt and saw that there was oil splattered on it. Hi put a towel and completed the hug, saying, "I wouldn't want to ruin your little black dress." She tried to back out, but didn't succeed. When he was done, he backed up and leaned up against the car. "So how have you been these days?"

She put her hand flat and waved it a little. "Eh, it's been ok. By the way, thanks for the car." He laughed and replied, "I was waiting for that one. You're welcome. See, I told you in high school that I'd keep the promise. I said _once I get enough money to buy my mother an Aston Martin_ then I would get you the Lamborghini. And it has the same paintjob, body kit, wheels and windows as the one we made on NFS Carbon in junior year." She smiled a little more confidently. "You do know you're missing your own party? Who are all of these cute guys you hang around with?"

"Why are you interested?" he said, laughing all the while. "They are just buddies from college or racing." She started to pace around the car. She looked inside the windows. "No," she replied, "I never said that I was interested, I just said they were cute." She walked around the car and pointed to the Eclipse that was covered again by the vinyl car drape. "Is this it? Is this the famous death-mobile." She reached down and pulled off the covering. "It is the death-mobile." She grinned as she walked around it and attempted to open the door, but was unsuccessful. She looked up at Jason. He shrugged and didn't even go for the keys. "So what did I miss in life?" he said, changing the subject. She walked back to him and responded, "Well, BJ got bored and moved to Jacksonville. Nick accidentally got a girl pregnant and had a shotgun wedding; well, at least his mom won't think he is gay. (Jason grimaced at the last one) And Ruby was the girl who got pregnant. (His grimace grew larger) Jared now is on the Olympic curling team for the Czech Republic. I now live in South Carolina and keep up with your accomplishments, while working as an interior designer. And Kara is now a journalist for the New York Times." Jason stood there in awe of all that had gone on without his knowing. "You know," she continued, "if you went on facebook more often, they you would at least be up to date." She walked up the small steps to the hallway of the house.

He followed her up the steps and entered his residence. He looked down at his shirt and decided it was better to change. He came out of the bedroom five minutes later in black jeans and a long sleeve, plaid button up shirt. He walked back into the hallway and found Sara waiting for him. "You know, I never knew North Carolina was so gorgeous, until I came here today." Jason shrugged and walked into the living room where several guys had beers in hand and were watching baseball on the sixty inch LCD screen. "Hey, if you guys get any of that crap on my couch," said Kate from over the house's PA system that Jason had installed earlier that year, "you're going to be buying me a new one!" As Jason walked past, they raised their bottles to him as he nodded back.

He walked up to Kevin Johnson, who was outside at the pool with a bunch of other people. "Hey, have you seen my girlfriend anywhere?" Kevin shook his head. Jason patted him on his back. He walked around the deck with Sara in tow. He rounded a corner and found Kate walking up to him in jeans and a blue blouse. "Hey, baby!" she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. He looked down at her and said, "So, _now_ you're talking to me." She nodded and let go of him. She looked behind him and saw Sara, who was standing there, nonchalantly smiling. In unison they pointed to each other and said, "So this is her!" Jason smiled and put his hands up to slow them down. "Kate, meet Sara, one of my best friends from high school. Sara, meet Kate, my girlfriend of six years. Kate this is the girl I bought the Lamborghini for. Sara this is the girl who I said is the most amazing thing in the world. Kate has kinda become my protégé in racing. She's about as good as me." Kate laughed and replied, "If not better. So, Sara, where do you live?" The both of them walked off talking to each other. Jason sighed a sigh of relief: at least they were getting along. Sara had told his last high school girlfriend that she was a whore, straight to her face and in front of him. He walked off to the kitchen and pulled himself a bottle of Guinness Draft and popped the cap off. He went down and sat with his college buddies on the couch as they watched baseball. "Give me the remote." The remote was put in his hands. He paused the game and asked, "Why are you guys watching this, I know you guys too well to know you suddenly like baseball. Kate isn't watching, who's up for some Ultimate Fighting?" The guys agreed. He punched in the station number and started watching men get wailed on by each other. About eleven, ESPN News came on and started showing the highlights for the day's sports events that had taken place. The third one shown (beaten only by Alex Rodriguez testing positive for steroids and a new sport being added to the Olympics) was the video of his win. When it came on, he stood up, raised his bottle and shouted. He watched as the sports casters broke down the race, complimenting him on his racing every once in a while.

After that came an announcement that captured his attention. On the TV, a reporter straightened himself up and looked at the camera. "In other news, Microsoft, the mega software company has moved itself into the racing sector. They are taking their best-selling racing game series, Forza Motorsport, and making it into a competition said to be the Olympics of racing. Starting next year, 2012, there will be a full year of qualifying races taking place all over the globe. The actual championships will be held in 2013, but there will be events for all classes and types of racing. They will span from drift racing to street drag. This could be the biggest event, or culmination of events to ever happen to motor sports." Jason's jaw dropped. He was knocked back to reality when a buddy of his slapped him on the back, saying, "Bro, you totally need to do that, think about how rich you'd get!" Kevin, unbeknownst to Jason, was standing behind the couch. "That's hot." Jason, still partially in shock stood up, turned around and high-fived Kevin, saying, "Hell, yeah! Let's do that junk!" He turned around and looked back at the TV and said, "Hell yeah! I'm doing that!"

"Doing what?" asked Kate as she walked inside with Sara. Jason scrambled for the remote and reversed the video to the announcement. When it had played through, she said, "Sounds cool, I'm in." Jason walked behind the counter, pulled out the beer and yelled, "Next round is on me!" Sara shook her head as she came up and grabbed one. His buddies whooped and hollered as they came up and grabbed more. Several of the girls, who had showed up uninvited, came up from the pool and grabbed some. Kate leaned over the counter, kissed him and whispered, "Can you bring out the Dissarono?" He nodded and brought out the bottle and two glasses. "On the rocks?" he asked her. She nodded. He filled the cups with some ice cubes and poured a fair amount into both. When she got the glass, Sara joined her at the counter on the barstool next to her. Kate raised her glass and toasted, "To Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of the Race!" She smiled, flashing her white teeth that complimented her shoulder length brown hair. They all clinked their glasses (and one beer bottle) to the toast.

The party "officially" ended at one o clock, when Jason called taxis for everyone. The only person left were Sara and Kevin, who were having a very engaged conversation on how the body shot works properly. She had moved the armchair she was sitting in directly in front of the couch Kevin was. The both of them were almost as wasted as Jason's old college buddies. Those guys lived like fraternity brothers, even though they were just as old as or older than Jason. Kevin, who was twenty three, was insisting that the salt went on the lips, the lime between the boobs and the glass _somehow_ balanced on the belly button. When Sara disagreed, he responded, "_Fine!_ They how bout you show me how it's correctly done. Sara looked at him, set down her glass of Captain Morgan's, and replied, "_Fine! _Maybe I'll show you!" It was comical, because she stood up, tugged on the shoulders of her dress, but realized (after several tries) that the dress had a zipper on the back. She frantically tried to pull the zipper down, spinning around the entire time. Kevin was almost intrigued by this. She tried multiple times, but she couldn't reach it and only succeeded in looking like a foolish blonde. "Hey, go get a room!" Jason said loudly from one of the barstools in front of the counter. Kate laughed, sitting on his lap. She looked up at him, stumbled back and fell onto the couch next to Kevin. "What are you talking about? This is a living room!" she said with a slight slur, "Sooo, it's still considered a room!" Jason laughed loudly at this, he almost fell out of his seat because of it. Kevin sat up next to Sara, staring at her chest the entire time, "Who wants to go swimming?" Jason could tell that he was out of it, because he was usually fairly restrained around women, unlike then, when he wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he wanted to see her in a two piece. Being just as tipsy, she replied, "Oooh, I love pools! I want to go swimming." She jumped up, almost falling down face first, asking, "Kate, can I borrow a swim suit?" Kate could barely nod a "yes" because she was laughing so hard. Sara stumbled out of the room, followed by Kate.

Jason walked over and sat next to Kevin. Kevin looked over at him and said with a face similar to a kid in a candy store, "Bro… She has nice tits!" Jason shook his head as Kate walked back in from the bedroom. "Kevin, the only reason I haven't kicked you out yet is that you are entertaining and you are one of my best friends in the Carolinas. Just so you know, the only way you are gonna get a piece of her is the fact that you are both hammered." Kevin snorted with laughter, suddenly a teenager again, "Please, she isn't as drunk as me. So it has to say something good about me." From another room across the house, a shout could be heard. "Argh! I can't get my underwear off!" Jason gave Kevin a look that said an implied "I told you so!"

Five minutes later, Sara, usually a smart, conservative, shy girl, came waltzing in with a blue bikini on. She came in, took one step, and almost did a face plant. She caught herself. She began to walk to the pool. Immediately, Kate tossed Jason and Kevin some trunks. Kevin instantly stood up, pulled his pants and shirt off and put the trunks over his boxers, and chased after Sara. Jason leaned over to Kate and whispered, "I think it's more likely that they'll die before they can even reach the pool to drown in. Can you keep an eye on them while I get some towels?" He gave her a kiss as he walked off, changed into the trunks and grabbed some towels. When he came back out, he saw the Kevin and Sara stumbling still walking toward the pool. He shook his head as they were both more or less fell into the deep end of the pool. On the opposite end, Kate had taken off her shirt to reveal a bikini top and had removed her jeans to reveal a matching bottom. She was walking, gracefully down the steps into the shallow end, where there were benches to sit in. She sat down and watched the other two swim over to the other bench. He followed her path down after he took off his shirt. He sat down on the bench next to her and watched the other two settle down into the seat across from him. When Sara was seated, he spoke to both of them, "I hope you know that you both are staying here tonight. (Kevin pumped his fists in celebration.) In _separate _rooms." Kevin attempted to lean over and kiss Sara, who looked at him for a moment, but she started talking to Kate and looked away, leaving him leaning forward, where his face met her right shoulder blade instead. Jason leaned over to Kate and whispered into her ear, "This is hilarious." She leaned back over to him and replied, "Yeah, wait till they have massive hangovers tomorrow. You are not letting me deal with them both tomorrow." He laughed and agreed, too busy watching Kevin lean in for another attempt. This time he was more accurate, but wound up connecting with her upper jaw instead of the front of her face. He attempted to recover by changing the subject, but it wasn't much better. "Hey, Kate," he began, getting a confused look from Sara, who was wondering what just happened, "You know, you're pretty hot." Jason pointed at him, "Hey, watch yourself there. If you want to live to see your hangover tomorrow, you'd best shut it there." This didn't register in his brain, because he continued, "I'm serious, you have like the perfect butt and probably the second nicest rack I've seen all night (as he put his arm around Sara, who was still mildly confused)." Jason shifted his weight forward. He looked directly at Kevin. "Kevin, the only reason that I'm letting you get away with this is you're drunk." Kevin's voice trailed off as his already short attention span went from Kate back to Sara.

The two of them got out of the pool and were sitting in the lawn chairs, dried off, and were just about to pass out when Kevin said, "Hey Sara."

"What, Kevin?"

"You've got nice boobs… I mean eyes…(his head sliding downward)"

"That's so sweet… (head drooping) Wait… What was that first part?"

Jason sighed as the both of them were out in their chairs. He looked over to Kate. "Would you help me carry them to the guest rooms?" She sighed and nodded. The two of them proceeded to lift them, with an amount of difficulty, to the guest rooms.


End file.
